The hydrogen permeance of 1 mm-thick Pd 80wt% Cu foils was measured in the presence of equimolar mixtures of H 2 with CO, CO 2 or H 2 O over the temperature and total pressure ranges of 623-1,173 K and 0.62-2.86 MPa, respectively. In all cases, permeance losses at 623 and 738 K were very modest. At higher temperatures, more significant decreases in membrane permeance were observed with the highest reduction of about 50% occurring when macroscopic carbon deposition occurred on the membrane surface during H 2 -CO exposure at 908 K. The more worrisome effects of exposure to these gases, however, were the micron-scale surface defects observed at 908 and 1,038 K. Although the 1 mm thick disk membranes retained their mechanical integrity, such defects could cause catastrophic failure of ultra-thin, Pd-Cu membranes (1-5 lm thick) deposited on porous substrates.